ARP Racing Results

The Rocket” Jesse Hockett was hoping to haul the big money from the Short Track Nationals back to Warsaw, Missouri.  He would end up seven spots short, salvaging a tough weekend by earning hard-charger honors in the finale.  This week, he’ll take the VKCC Motorsports/Tom Buch #13 to Tulare, California, and take the wings off for USAC/CRA action at the Thunderbowl Raceway.

Jesse qualified on Thursday night at the Short Track Nationals held at the I-30 Speedway south of Little Rock, Arkansas.  He ran fourth in his heat after starting sixth on the red clay ¼ mile oval.  “It was definitely a heavy track there on Thursday night,” he says.  “We were just alright in the heat finishing fourth.”

The Heat/Qualifier format was used, and Jesse lined up inside row two.  He had a strong run before the motor expired.  “In the Qualifier, we were doing alright,” he explains.  “If we would have finished where we were at, we would have been in the back of the A.  We ended up dropping a valve there with a few laps to go.”

Still not feeling comfortable with his car, Jesse used the day off to play car owner for young Californian Kyle Larson and the JHR #77, and help his team put together an entry for Saturday.  “We actually put a whole different car together for Saturday,” he says.  “We were starting over.  That car seems to suit my style a whole lot better.”

The gamble paid off.  Though the #77 suffered motor problems after hot laps on Saturday, the #13 was hitting on all cylinders.  With qualifying night points used to determine who may make it in the finale, Jesse went in knowing he would probably have to win a Qualifier to get in.  “We got it going pretty good there in the heat,” he says.  “We were in the second heat, and it was really one-lane.  We really had no chance to do much passing.”

After finishing third in one of the stoutest heats of the night, Jesse lined up fifth in his Qualifier.  Odds were tough, as he had to win the 10-lap event to even make the finale.  “It looked like we had a long way to go,” he says.  “A couple of cars got together in front of us (J Kinder/Don Young) on the first lap, and that helped us out with our starting position.  I really think we may have won anyway.  We were already in second there in turn two on the original start.”

The 40-lap $15,000 to win event was up next, and Jesse would post outside row ten.  In the end, he would surge forward and earn hard-charger honors with another top ten finish.  “The car was good, but starting twentieth with that class of cars in front of you is tough,” he says.  “We moved up through there pretty well, stayed out of trouble, and came home with an eighth.”

The VKCC Motorsports/Tom Buch #13 team is currently towing westward to the Tulare Thunderbowl.  “Saturday and Sunday we’ll be out in Tulare for the USAC race,” says Jesse.  “Then we’ll come back and run the Western World in Tucson (ASCS) next weekend.”

Jesse Hockett’s trip to California looked like it might find him heading home with 5,000 large, but it didn’t end up that way.  A rough Friday at the Trophy Cup saw him switch venues on Saturday and head to the Ventura Raceway, where it looked like the top prize would be his.  An official’s decision cost him a shot at the win, and this week he’ll tackle the Short Track Nationals in Little Rock aiming at an even bigger $15,000 prize.

Jesse paired up with Harold Main and his #35B for the prelim at Tulare Thunderbowl’s Trophy Cup for 360’s.  Mechanical problems got them off to a slow start.  “We had some fuel problems when we got to Tulare,” he says.  “We didn’t get the chance to hot lap, and we qualified really badly.  With the system they had, that put us back in the non-qualifiers.”

Despite the setback, Jesse charged and did what he could to climb through the alphabet.  “We were able to run second in the non-qualifiers, and we won the D,” says the Warsaw, Missouri driver, who has 21 wins in his pocket in 2009.  “We got into the C, and we were going pretty well.  We ended up getting crashed out by another driver and that was the end of the night.  We tore up the car.  I felt bad for Harold.  He was kind enough to give us a shot.”

The Ventura Racing Association was running for $5,000 down at the Ventura Raceway and Jesse had a connection.  “We ended up getting a ride with a friend of mine at Ventura,” he says.  “We drove for Bruce Douglas and Victor Davis.  Tommy Horne was the crew chief on it and he did a great job.  We were able to win the heat.”

Jesse worked his way by Jimmy Crawford into the lead on lap eight.  He was cruising out front ahead of Matt Mitchell when another competitor crashed on lap 20.  “We were leading the feature,” he explains.  “With ten laps to go, we were cruising, and there was a driver flipping hard.  The red light blinked on the backstretch so I shut it down and so did Matt Mitchell, who was running second.  I guess after Matt and I crossed the light it switched back to yellow, and the rest of the field kept going.”

Unbelievably, Hockett and Mitchell were sent to the back of the field and the yellow light stayed out despite the crash.  No mention of the incident was in the track’s press release.  “The guy was upside down and on fire,” says Jesse.  “They’ve been real strict about that across the rest of the country, especially after the fire (Mike Houseman Jr.) at Knoxville.  I was trying to look out for another driver’s safety, but it ended up costing me $5,000 at Ventura.  I wasn’t too happy about it.  We were really good, it was just a shame what happened there.”

It was little consolation, but Jesse charged from the tail to seventh in the final ten laps.  He is readying this week for Little Rock as both a driver and car owner.  He will drive the VKCC Motorsports/Tom Buch #13, while Californian Kyle Hirst will pilot the Jesse Hockett Racing #77 on Friday.  “We’ll run on Thursday, and then Kyle Hirst will run our car on Friday,” says Jesse.  “He’s really excited to get out here.  He was running well at Tulare until his rear axle broke, so he will be ready.  We’ve always run well at Little Rock.  It’s a fun track and a good race.  We’ll run hard and let it all hang out there!”